Regulating mechanism for turbines.



No. 824,547. PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906. O.JUNGGREN. REGULATING MECHANISM FOR TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED APB.6.1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

. i Inventor": Oscar" Jung Pen,

No. 824,547, PATENTED JUNE 26'; 1906.

0.JUNGGRBN. REGULATING MECHANISM FOR TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.6.1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses: Inventor:

Oscar Junggren,

, mal runnin UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR JUNGGREN, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEN- ERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

REGULATING MECHANIS M FOR TURBINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1906.

Application filed April 6. 1904. Serial No. 201.850-

To a, whom it may concern! Be it known that I, OSCAR JUNGGREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Regulating Mechanism for Elastic-Fluid Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a regulating mechanism for elasticfluid turbines operating by stage expansion which is simple in construction and reliable and efficient in operation.

The turbine is divided by diaphra ms into as many stages as are desired, an motive fluid is admitted to the first or high-pressure stage by a plurality of nozzles or nozzle-sections controlled by separatelyactuated valves, the said valves being under the control of a device responsive to load changes. The said device may be directly or indirectly driven by the main shaft. As an example, I may use a governing mechanism for the first stage of the character described and claimed in my ending application, Serial No. 121,110, led Au st 26, 1902. Under norcon itions one or more of the valves will e 0 em and one or more of the 'valves will be c osed and one valve will be doing the regulatin In other words, the volume of steam de ivered by a given number of nozzles or nozzle-sections is seldom the right amount to maintain a constant speed 0 the bucket-wheel. Hence one nozzlevalve has to keep openin and closing, and the interval of time that t e valve is open or closed depends upon how nearly a given number 0 nozzles can handle the load. order to control the passage of steam or other motive fluid through the nozzles or discharging devices between sta es and to maintain constant or substantia ly constant stagepressures, separately-actuated valves are provided, which to distin ish them from the admission-valves are ca led stage or by-pass valves. This feature of the invention is an improvement over the construction shown in the United States Patent to Dwight D. Book, .No. 714,094, which broadly covers the idea of varying the number of active stage-nozzles in a turbine hav- Inv ing two, three, or more stages by valve mechanism responsive to variations in stage-pressure. Book employs a single piston-valve of lar e dimensions for controlling each'stage. This construction while satisfactory in many instances is limited in its application for various reasons, among which are the inertia of the heavy movin parts, the difficulty of connectin nozzles ocated at different points aroun the wheel-buckets with a single valvecasing, and the large amount of space required, and the consequent increase in dimensions of the turbine as a Whole.

7 i In order to overcome the objections above referred to, a plurality of individual and relatively small valves are provided between one stage and another,which are located in close proximity to the stage nozzle or nozzles controlled thereby in order that the fluid-conveying passages may be as short as possible. The valves can with advanta e be located'in casings which are bolted or ot erwise secured to the wheel-casing adjacent to the stagenozzles, since by reason of this construction the valves may be readily inspected, adjusted, mounted in place, or repaired. The valves may be weighted in any suitable manner and may be arran ed to operate simultaneously or successive as desired. I prefer to have them operatesuccessively, since by so doing a'more nearly even pressure will be preserved in the wheel-compartment. The motive fluid in order to prevent its effect being lost when the valve opens is discharged into a succeeding shell or compartment of lower pressure. This discharge is preferably into the adjacent shell of lower ressure in order to eflectively-utilize the fluid; but it can take place into a shell which is more remote, if desired. This discharge can take place directlyinto the shell, in which case it does no useful work in passing but it is preferable to discharge it through what I term auxiliary or stage nozzles that are normally inactive and are prevented from receivingfluid directly from the main steamspace of the compartment. In this way the excess steam from one shell or wheel-compartment is made to do useful work in passtoo .is again established.

tall in stage-pressure will cause one or more open one alter the other as the pressure in a given Stage increases and close in reverse order usthe pressure lalls, thereby increasing or decreasingthe number ol active stage-now zles. Other things being equal, an increase in pressure will cause one or more stage-nozzles to be put in service until an (.(tttllilflltllll ()n the other hand, a

stage-nozzles to be cut out oi service one after .the other until an equilibrium is again established. In other words, the successivcly-acting valves tend to hold the pressure of a given stage constant. The construction and action of the stage-valves is the same in each case whether for a high or low pressure stage.

The iirst stage or shell is provided with suitable nozzles or fluid-discharging devigres and a governor of any approved. type to compensate for load changes, but preterably the one disclosed in my pending application above referred "to. One or more of the stages or shells of lowerpressure are provided with. as many main nozzles, or discharging devices as are necessary for ave age load conditions, which nozzles may be in permanent open communication with the shell and receive steam directly tl'leretrom, or they may be valved, as desired. in addition to these nozzles there are auxiliary or stage nozzles which are closed to the steam-space ol the shell and receive steam only through the weighted stage or by-pass valves. lhese valves are set to open under a predetermined increase in stage or what is sometimes called shell pressure. The weights on the *alvcs (litter, so that they operate successively. in other words, the auxiliary or stage nozzles are in a 1 connection or conduit from one stage to another and are controllral in their action by automatic valves.

To reduce the strain on the parts and also to simplily the constrin-tion, the main and auxiliary stageaiozzles are separate. structures, and For certain types of turbine, espe cially' large sizes, it will be Found advanta geous to form the main nozzles on one part ol a segmental luu-lu t-wheel shell or casing and the auxiliary nozzles in a. separate part or segment oi the same shell. 'lhey may. however, be supported in a. ditlcrcnt manner. ii desired in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment ol' my invention,

Figure l is a partial vertical section of a two- Wheel-per-stage turbine. Fig. 2 is a horizon tal section oi the same, taken on a. pl.-me ust Each oi the lay-pass or stage valves may be mounted in a. separate ca ing, that is l above the upper diaphragm. Fig. 3 is a plan view ol the turbine, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of the lirst stage or supply valves.

1 represents the casing ol. the machine, which is provided wiih. a top or cover 2 and one or more walls or diaphragms 3. 130'- tween the cover and the upper diaphragm and between adjacent diaphragms are lHlflkOt-XVlIOOlH 4; for hactionally abstracting the velocity of the fluid stream due to the nozzles. ,ln the present illustration two rows of wheel-buckets are provided for each stage, with a row ot. intermediate buckets 5 between each pair of Wl16Qll UClt 'lhe l'unction ot these intermediate buckets is to receive. steam from one row of wheel-buckets and. after changing its direction discharge it 'n'operly against the adjacent row of wheel buckets. The upper diaphragm 3, owing to the high pressure to which it is subjected, is made smaller than the other diaphragms.

l l 3 is an overlmnging projection'ti,formed on a I segment ot the wheel-easing. In the projeci tion is formed a nozzle which is composed of a plurality of closely-associated sections or passages. 'lhc nozzle may be of the expandt ing or non-expanding type. .lhe1oWcr-presi sure diaphragms are mounted on small shouh ders lormed on the inside ol the casing and i are provided at one or more points near their ably oi the sectionalizei'l type and may or i may not expand between the receiving and 2 discharge orifices, as is desired. lleierring to Fig. 2, the arrangement ol" the second-stage i'iozzles will be seen. The casing '1 is divided into sections. In thepresent illustration tour of these sections are/shmvn, and the lines of division betweensections are in radial planes. 8 and 9 represent the main stage-nozzles t'orsupplying elastic fluid to the bucliet-wheel ot the second stage, it being unders'l ood the. t the tirst stage has been removed in this figure for the purpose of illustration. .lfiach of these nozzles is ol the sectionalized type and is composed of five sections, each 5 section being provided with a suitable bowl it), which delivers steam or other elastic lluid to the nozscleaii'ilice. The nozzles are situated diametrically opposite and are ol' sulficient capacity to handle a. given or normal load on the turbine, The nozzles tor the subsequent stages are designed to handle the increased volume of steam at the reduced pres sure. Situated at suitable. points with respc t to the main nozzles are auxiliary stagenozzles 11 and i2. 'lhesenozzlesare Formed. in sections of the casing separate from those sections which carry the main stage-nozzles.

the weakening of any one of the casing-segments by cutting away a consulerable mass l of metal, as would be the case it all oi t-henOZ- Situated below and supporting the diaphragm eri )hcries with nozzles 7 which are refer The. object ot this arrangement is to prevent steam-pressure.

zle-sections were formed therein. The main stage-nozzles 8 and 9 are in permanent communication with the upper wheel-chamber 13, Fig. 1.

The auxiliary stage-nozzles are permanently covered by a plate or other suitable means 14, and adjacent thereto the wheelcasing is cut away to form a passage 15, which forms a part of a valve-controlled connection. Situated below the passage 15 is a second passage 16, Fig. 1, which discharges fluid into all ofthe bowls 17 of the auxiliary or stage nozzles.

In order to control' the passage of fluid. from one wheel-chamber to the next and to relieve the pressure on the diaphragm, an au tomatic by-pass or stage valve is provided, comprising a piston-like portion 18, which engages with a conical seat on the artition 19. The pistonis weighted or held against its seat by a coiled compression-spring20. The lower end of the spring is supported in the cup-shaped abutment 21, that maybe adjusted by a screw 24. Tne screw is carried by a detachable late 23, and when it is desired to remove t e valve for the purpose of inspection or repair this plate,together with the abutment and sprin is removed, and by inserting a screw-three ed rod in the projection 24 the piston can be withdrawn, it being understood that this iston' makes a close fit with its inclosing cyhnder. The valve does not open until the pressure exceeds a certain amount, and when once opened it remains so until there is a predetermined decrease in By reason of the beveled end of the valve the efiective area of the valve when closed is somewhat less thanwhen open.

In order that the pressures on the piston may be in a measure balanced, a passage 25 is rovided, which opens the cylinder-space hack of the piston to the wheel-chamber 26.

Under normal conditions the valve is in the position shown; but when the pressure within the upper wheel-chamber 13 exceeds a predetermined amount the bypass or stage valve 0 ens and motive fluid is permitted to flow t rough the passages 15 and 16 into the auxiliary nozzles, the latter being arranged to effectively discharge thefluid against the bucket-wheel mounted in the wheel-chamber 26. Two or more of these by-pass or stage valves may be provided for a given stage. I find it convenient in the present embodiment of my invention to valves and to adjust'them 'flerently, so that they will operate successively.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the stage-valves and their casing 27 are situated diametrically opposite, and the latter are 'bolted to the main casing, so that they can readily be attached and removed. 28 re resents the main shaft, and 29 a packing, w 'ch prevents motive fluid from escaping from one denser or atmosphere, as desired.

brushes 46, which are 'connecte rovide two such wheel-chamber to the next without performing useful work. 3 represents the upper 'dia phragm, which is provided with suitable strengthening-ribs, some of which are provided with screw-threaded holes 30 to receive eyebolts, the latter being used in assembling and taking down the machine.

In Fig. 3 is shown a plan view of the turbine with a dynamo or other load 30 mounted thereon. In the center of the, dynamo isa dome 31, which incloses the speed-responsive device that is mounted on, the main shaft. Situated at diametrically oppositelpoints on the casing and suitably inorosed are valves 18, responding automatically to changes in stagepressure. The turbine is supportedbyabase 8o 32, which is provided with a conduit 33, that carries off the exhaust. The base may con' tain a condenser or be connected to a con- In order to supply fluid to the turbine, a 8 5 plurality of separately-actuated valves 34 4 are employed, each valve being operated by a motor 35 of suitable construction. In the present instance each valve is operated by a fluid-motor which is under the control bf an electromagnet 36. The valves are mounted in a valve'chest 37, which is common to them all. Extending from' the chamber in the valve-chest is a plurality of fluid-carrying passages 38, each of which is provided with a valve which opens into one or more passages in the first-stage or supply nozzles 39. Steam or other elastic fluid is admitted to the valve: .chest by the conduit 40. The magnets 36 for controlling the motors 35 are supported by the valve-chest, but are separated therefrom by a small space to permit of the circulation of air for cooling purposes. Eachmagnet acts on the stem of a rela -va whic controls themotor. Mountec. on the main shaft 28 is a speed-responsive device 42, which is connected to a bell-crank lever 43, that is mounted in the dome 31 l r 43 is connected to the step ed contaet y in der 44 through a. system 0 levers 45 in such manner that the cylinder can be oscillated in response to speed changes. Enga ing the contact-cylinder is a pluralit 0 e to a scarce of currentsupply and to the magnets 36. shown, all of the magnets are energized, which means'that all the supply or first-stage valves are open. If the load decreases, the speed-responsive device will move the contact-cylinder in a direction to cut out one or more of the brushes, which will permit one or more of the magnets 36, and consequently one or more of the nozzlevalves,,to close. Under ordinary running conditions one or more of the valves are closed, one or more of the valves open, and at least one valve is doing the governing by opening and closin As the load increases the speed drops slightly,

causing one or more admission-valves to fluid-pressure from astage, and successively open, thereby increasing the pressure in the first stage. When the increase in stage-pressurireaches accrtain 1iri-aletermined amount, one of the stage-valves will open, and upon a still further increase another stagewalve will open, and. so on until all of the stage-valves are open. The increasing of the-pressure in the first stage is accompanied by an increase in pressure in the second and. subsequent stages, due to the opening of the stage-valves and the putting in service of What I have termed auxiliary or stage nozzles. Conversely, when the admission-valves are closed one after the other a temporary fall in pressure takes place in the first stage, which permits one or more stage-valves to close, the latter cutting off one or more auxiliary noz zles and causing a temporary drop in pressure in the second and succeeding stages until a state of equilibrium is reestablished. This action takes place in each stage provided with these stage-valves.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now believe to represent the best embodiment thereof; but.

ll desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrativ" and that the invention can be carried out by other means. i

VV'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ol the United States, is

1. in an elastic-fluid turbine operating by stage expansion, means controllingthe supply of fluid to the first stage, and individual automatic stage-pressure-controlled valves located at diii'ercnt points around the turbine for supplying Iluid to the succeeding stage or stages.

ply oi i'iuid to the first stage, and a series of valves controlling the supply ol' fluid to a "neceeding stage which are automatically operated by relatively (liticrent variations in the preceding stage-pressure.

3; in an elastic-fluid turbine operating by stage expansion, individual and successivelyoperating valves controlling the supply of fluid to' the first stage, and automatic stagepressure-controlleil valves admitting iluid to the succeeding stage or stages.

4-. in an elastic-fluid turbine operating by stage expansion, means controlling the admission of fluid to the first stage, passages disposed around the turbine for delivering the tluid to a succeeding stage, and valves which are automatically and. successively opened or closed under the control of the preceding stage-pressure.

5. in a turbine operating by stage expansion, a plurality of passages for discharging acting valves under the control of a stagepressure which regulate the volume of fluid exhausted from said stage.

6. In an elastic-fluid turbine operating by stage expansion. independently and successively acting valves controlling the supply of fluid to the first stage, valves between the stage-compartments adapted to maintain stage-pressures therein, Which are automatically actuated by the rcssure in the stage which they control acting against a substantially constant resistance tending to move said valves in opposition to said stage-pressure.

7. In an elastic-fluid turbine, operated by stage expansion, the combination of a plurality of separately-aetuated valves controlling the supply of fluid to the first stage, a speedresponsive device, and automatic sta e-pressure-controlled valves supplying tluir to the succeeding stage or stages.

8. In an elastic-fluid turbine operated by stage 0)( )ansion, the combination of a lural ity of valves controlling the sup ly of t uid to the turbine, a speed-responsive device for regulating the action of the valves, and a series of individual valves controlling the supply of fluid to a succeeding stage, which are automatically operated by variations in the preceding stage-pressure".

9. in an elastic-fluid turbine operated by stage expansion, the combination of a plurality of individual and separately-actuated valves, a speedqesponsive device for eontrolling the valves, and automatic stagapressure-controlled valves admitting fluid to a succeeding stage or stages.

it). In an elastic-fluid turbine operated by stage expansion, the combination of a plural-- ity of separately-actuateil, valves controlling the admission of fluid to the first stage, a s peed-responsive device acting on said valves toregulate t em; and passages delivering fluid to asucceeding stage, which are automatically and successively opened under the control of the pressure in the preceding stage.

1 1. In an elastic-fluid turbine operated by stage expansion, the combination of individual valves controlling the supply of fluid to the first stage, a speed-responsive device for operating the valves one after the other in predetermined sequence, and valves between the stage or Wheel compartments adapted to maintain predetermined pressure therein, said valves being subjected'to the pressure of fluid Within the stage and also to a substantially constant resistance tending to move said valves in opposition to the stage-pressure.

.12. A turbine of the multista e type, in combination ,With a valve mec anism responding to speed changes for increasing and decreasing the amount of motive fluid ad IIO mitted to the turbine, stage nozzles or demitted by the governed valvemechanism devices, and successively-operating stage-valves creases. I 0 which open and permit more fluid to flow 1 In witness whereof I have hereunto set through the stage nozzles 01' devices when the my hand this 4th day of April, 1904.

amount of fluid admitted to the turbine by the governed valve mechanism increases and Witnesses: close one after the other and out out stage" BENJAMIN B. I'LULL, nozzles or devices as the amount of fluid ads HELEN ORFORD.

OSCAR J UN GGRisw 

